Baddies in Bloom

In a world where women are often portrayed as being catty and unsupportive of each other, a Dallas-based brunch series is turning that portrayal on its head. Founded by Oak Cliff-native Sydney Chandler, the Baddie Brunch Series works to empower and celebrate Black women over the best meal of the weekend. What started off as a small gathering has now turned into an often sold-out event that hosts mixers, happy hours and co-ed brunches in Dallas, Austin, and Houston, each one geared toward helping women slay, collaborate, and socialize.

The most recent brunch, October’s Baddies in Bloom, brought 30 Black young professional women together in floral attire to mix and mingle and discuss our growth, support systems, and current and future endeavors over a sampling of TorTaco’s brunch menu.

Fam, if you haven’t been to TorTacoyet? Run, don’t walk. And do it this weekend. The Relleno Tacos were my absolute favorite and featured a lightly battered poblano pepper with spinach, mushrooms, and cheese. The Diablo Shrimp tacos were a close second, but then I moved down the line and saw the Jalapeño Mac & Cheese and the Roasted Crab Dip and almost dropped a thug tear. Everything was good, Y’all. Everything.

Since Brunch ain’t brunch without alcohol, I had to make sure I tried a couple different things with my Baddie Brunch drink tickets. I like to feel fancy at brunch so I tried a mimosa, but the star of the show was the Swirl Margaritas. Margarita swirls were the signature drink of the small college town I went to school in, but those didn’t have anything on these. Make them your first drink when you go and I dare you to be disappointed.

(Hint: you won’t be.)

I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to attend this event because I feel so strongly about supporting Black people doing dope things. But to be able to do it over brunch was definitely a win-win situation. If you’re looking for this weekend’s brunch moves, try out TorTaco over on Ross Avenue in Dallas, or Currie Street in Ft. Worth. Show them this post and tell them Brunchlust sent you!

If you are interested in learning more about Baddie Brunch, check them out on Instagram at @Baddie_Brunch. TheirNovember event will be a co-ed formal Midnight Brunch that helps raise money to support a scholarship fund for students at Carter High School. If you are interested in getting jazzy and turning up for a good cause and proving that brunch is good any time of the day, purchase your tickets now.

Ironically enough, I still need to get mine. I’ll do that asap. Also, special thanks to The Baddie Brunch Series and their photographer Ely, whose work can be found on Instagram at @elytheethiopian

Happy Brunching!

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Lauren Whiteman is from Dallas, she eats Rudy’s, it’s been a while since she’s been to Big T though. She has a couple of degrees from the University of Oklahoma and is now an educator in Dallas area. Lauren’s work focuses on advocacy, studentdevelopment, and the miseducation of Black and African American students in higher education. For her twitter shenanigans, visit @Lwhiteman_9.